The game of golf requires bending or stooping to insert a tee into the ground at the beginning of each hole, and then bending or stooping to retrieve the tee after driving the ball. Insertion of the golf tee sometimes requires considerable force because of the hardness of the ground. Older golfers or those with back problems have difficulty in bending or stooping to place and retrieve the tee. This has lead to a number of suggestions in the prior art for devices to place and retrieve the tee, without bending or stooping.
Tee placement devices are disclosed in a number of patents, of which the following are exemplary.
______________________________________ Patent No. Title Inventor Issue Date ______________________________________ 2,609,198 Device for Setting Golf Balls Armstrong Sept. 2, 1952 and Tees 3,206,197 Golf Ball Tee Handling Tool Miotke Sept. 14, 1965 3,889,946 Portable Adjustable Tee and Setecka June 17, 1975 Ball Positioning Device 4,313,604 Golf Tee and Ball Stick Baxter Feb. 2, 1982 Device 4,466,650 Golf Ball and Tee Handling Roedel Aug. 21, 1984 Tool 4,526,369 Golf Aid Phelps July 2, 1985 4,714,250 Golf Ball and Tee Setter Henthorn Dec. 22,1 987 4,819,938 Golf Ball and Tee Hill Apr. 11, 1989 Placement and Retrieval Tool 4,951,947 Golf Ball Teeing Device Kopfle Aug. 28, 1990 5,310,177 No-Bend Golf Device Conrad et al. May 10, 1994 5,540,432 Golf Tee and Ball Setter Keller July 30, 1996 ______________________________________
Most of the aforementioned prior art involves a side insertion slot to laterally insert and temporarily hold the tee while it is located in the proper place on the ground, and means to press the top of the tee into the ground with force directed downward along the axis of the tee.
The aforementioned devices also are characterized by elongated handles attached to the tee driving tool, many having operating mechanisms extending through or along the elongated handle.
It would be desirable to have a tee placement and retrieval device which is simple in construction and does not require a permanently attached handle which has to be carried in the golf bag.
It would also be desirable to have a tee placement and retrieval device which is simple, requiring no moving parts and reliable in operation.